A New Zealand
native, Ettema's primary focus is in the design of bridges for river
crossings. Bridge washout during floods
is the leading cause of bridge failures worldwide. Owing to its rugged terrain and relatively
low population, New Zealand has more river-crossing bridges per capita than
most countries. Consequently, the
country spends a considerable amount of its transportation-infrastructure funds
protecting and maintaining these structures.

Ettema is
responsible for developing improved bridge design methods that are now being
adopted as standard design procedures by the U.S. Federal Highway
Administration, similar agencies in New Zealand, and at additional locations
around the globe. Most recently, he and
a panel of engineers completed a state-of-the-art review of current bridge
waterway design for the U.S. Transportation Research Board.

Research on bridge
performance during floods continues today at the University of Wyoming's
College of Engineering and Applied Science. Ettema, UW faculty colleagues, and students
have studied how bridge abutments and piers fail during flood flows. They have utilized special laboratory
techniques to diagnose specifically what causes bridge failure during these
periods of heavy water flow. These
previously un-performed experiments are funded by the Mountain Plains
Consortium, a transportation-research program sponsored by the U.S. Department
of Transportation.

For additional information on the Institute of Professional
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